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Where do I start.... The food was great, the staff were great, the pools and activities were great. The rooms were the only thing that wasnt great, but tbh you only sleep in them and stuff so it didnt matter. We stayed from 20th May 2012 for 2 weeks, I do wonder if we would have stayed 2 weeks later then it may not have been so good. We met loads of amazing people. The last couple of days alot of the locals came, and they were really loud, dont get me wrong we were loud but they were waking people up at night and early hours of the morning.The Thomson Rep was lovley, Sylvia, she helped with anything and everything. There were lots of exursions to do if you wanted and the prices were reasonable too.You could go out of the hotel to shops and there was a bit of night life and it was all safe, on the beach you could walk either way and again it was safe. The only annoying thing on the beach was the sales people!! They were friendly but you would see the same one 10 times a day and they would ask you 10 times a day!! They were not shy about sharing your bed either, but I didnt mind them too much.In general the hotel its self was smaller than all the other ones I have been to in the Carribean, but it was one of the best holidays we have had :) We didnt realise that it was advisable to take malria tablets, but we were ok, so I wouldnt bother next time either, as the locals and the rep didnt take them.The buffet and restuarants were all brilliant, when our drinks were half way down they would just fill them back up. Service was fantastic, we really couldnt fault it, would probably go back in a few years when we have visited everywhere else :)

Room Tip: Just ask and maybe tip them and they might move you!

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Stayed May 2012, travelled as a couple

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3Thank TheMongers

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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

My husband & I spent one great week (27/05-24/05/2012) at GV. We have been going to the Playa Dorada area for over 17 years, spending most of that time at the recently closed Victoria Hotel. This was our first time staying at the GV, which is one of the sister hotels to the Victoria, and we were totally satisfied with the resort. We desperately needed a mini holiday not only to relax but to celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary and my birthday. We booked a Jr suite and Marisol the rooms manager made sure our accomodation in the Saona bldg was perfect. It was also great to see Stanley at the front desk making us feel welcome, hola Stanley and Marisol.

The food at the buffet was good, we never left hungry!!! The a la carte restaurants were good but our favorite was the Ocean Grill. The staff at the resort were great. We NEVER had to wait for anything. The entire staff are fast and efficient...wow!

We were saddened to see the closures of so many resorts and specially of our beloved Victoria. We hope tourism increases as the PP area is suffering desperately. We hope the new cruise port scheduled to open in 2014 is not too late.

We have recommended the Gran Ventana to many friends and especially our old friends from the Victoria.....we will return and we hope you will too.

HI All just returned (28/05/2012) back from stopping at the VH Gran Ventana Beach ResortAll I can say is to all those who are going is you will have a great time, if you are in any doubt about going because of some of the reviews on here, I will gladly have your holiday. Well where do I start, the Thompson rep was spot on she seemed to be about all the time and would listen to anything you wanted to talk about and very helpful. The resort is situated in a well designed area with other hotels about, also a golf course a shopping plaza with a cinema, an English bar called Phil’s bar (small) but felt very welcome and you can watch any football that is on. There is a night club called coco bongo's there is a charge of 15$ to go in then all drink is included all night. Right back to the hotel all staff are friendly even the entertainment team they try to get you involved in games etc but are not pushy if you don’t want to. The shows on a night are ok and fun they have a karaoke night. The rooms are good and spacious and clean with mini bar the bathroom as shower and bath and hair dryer. The restaurant is great with lots to chose from I know some of the food is a little repeated but there is something for every taste. I have been to the Dominican a few times and stopped at different hotels and the food is similar. You can use the restaurant or the beach grill bar for dinner, the beach grill bar is open till 5oclock. Book the grill bar restaurant and octopus restaurant for an evening meal, we booked them a few times and they were great.All drink is local and they are great and I felt fresh a few times so they are not watered down (like some say on here),There are two pools one they call the quite pool which is through the reception area in a separate area from main hotel there is a bar there. the main pool is very big and as a swim up bar, there are plenty of sun beds and we never had to get up early to save any ( so for those on here who said they had to fight for them I don’t know where they had stayed ) now for the beach there are again plenty of sun beds and quite a few palm tree umbrella and if you need extra bed there are plenty stacked up and there is a guy who will bring them to you and he does not expect a tip but you can if you feel like it. There are a few vendors who walk up and down who keep asking if you want to buy any gifts but if you say no they will walk away there are a few who are friendly and will chat we used to give them pop and beer from fridge and even got them a drink from the beach bar. So to sum it all up excellent t place excellent timeDon’t let any of these moaning reviews put you off, I don’t know what they expect and some people will moan at the least little thing I would love to see how some of them live at home.Feel free to ask me any questions and also tell me if you did not enjoy your stay when you return homepigeonpete@hotmail.co.uk

Room Tip: we stayed on the 3rd floor which i thought was best as you have no one above you,not that we heard a...

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Stayed May 2012, travelled with family

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Ask captainpg about VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort

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Stayed here from may 26-june 1st and i miss it already :( We arrived at around 1 and it was around a 20 minute drive to the hotel and rooms werent ready yet but we were given punch as we waited. in the meantime our united representative and we booked our excursions which were ATV's and City tour! both excursions with food cost us 94 dollars. after booking them our rooms were ready at 3pm we were placed in Saona 1326(superior), and 1325(Jr suite). rooms were almost the same size except the jr suite has sitting area and thats it. our room had a blocked view of the beach by trees but they were on the 3rd floor so it was a hassle going up the steps and around the corridor but nothing extreme. The staff was amazing they always tried to make you participate. saturday night there was a beach party from 8-11pm which played older music but it was fun and the staff conviced everyone to dance:) random note i love palm trees :)) the hotel grounds are beautiful and well kept!

Excursions:ATV: these were so much fun you go around a sugar cane field, into a secluded beach and back and its about 5 minutes from the playa dorada complex. however in the course of the atv its very bumpy and if u are going very fast you will fly off if you are in the back like i did. however after falling off i was fine just cut up and the driver was fine she was still on the atv just shook up. i did end up losing my glasses when i fell and couldnt find them as i realized i didnt have them like 5 minutes later. atv is about 4 hours long and they do give u options to buy stuff to give to the kids on the way. however the kids at one point were very persistent and almost robbed one of the girls from another hotel of something in her bag.

City Tour: this was a great excursion we started off by visiting the brugal factory wat better way to start the day :) the factory is mostly all automated and then u can sample and buy after the tour i bought 2 bottle for 16 dollars. then after this we visited the ambar museum which was very interesting and we were shown how they cut the stone and etc.then onto the san felipe church which was very beautiful as well as central park then onto the san felipe fort which was nice we didnt go inside as we had to pay 100 pesos to get in so we walked around and took pictures. then after this we went to another amber museum/cigar factory which was way better and here we got to sample a cigar and mama juana which was really good:) then we stopped for food at this place across the street from the be live hotels and the food was great. then after lunch we did cable cars however it was foggy and we couldnt see much but it was still amazing and beautiful.

Fun city: this was a great place to go waste like 2 hours or so u pay 25 dollars and u get taxi transportation, 1 free snack and soda, 1 picture and unlimited rides and time on each of the tracks theres 3 tracks of go karts and 1 thing of bumper cars which were extremely fun

Jetski: these are so much fun i want to buy one now :) it cost 33 dollars a person for about 30 minutes so it was kind of expensive but definitely worth it.

Food: the food here was good and u got to eat at least 3 times a day at the buffet from 7-10am, 1-3 pm and 7-10pm and lots of choices for all eaters im a picky eater and i had many choices. they only served mangu 2x while we were there so maybe not so popular item but there was always fresh fruit and bread and the icecream and desserts were amazing:) presidente was available at all times even during breakfast lol. the ala cartes were good we only did the italian one and octupus one because the other one wasnt open. i had chicken parm at the italian one and mango chicken breast which were good.

Animation: theres always something to do or see at this hotel like on my bday we did the alacarte and then the michael jackson show and coincidentally there was another bday person there and at the ala cartes her friends told the staff it was her bday and then my friends felt bad so they suprised me later at the michael jackson show by telling the staff and at the end they made me get on stage and sang happy bday to me lol in front of most of the hotel guests lol. i love my friends:)

Plaza dorada: this plaza was literally a block away and 2 minutes away and u could find everything thing like coco bongos which was really fun we went there on my bday and they have free rum+ coke from 11-1am.

cons of puerto plata : VENDORS! theyre everywhere and try to sell you everything. they tried to sell me a horseback ride from the hotel to the plaza lol literally 1000 feet lol and on the beach as well theyre waiting by the entrance to try and sell u stuff and walk by every 2 seconds and are persistent but all you have to say is no gracias! and away they go :)

Hotel: theyre upgrading the hotel like when we were there they installed new energy saving power controls instead of that little rectangle thing u now use your key card to turn on the power in the room.

We flew out on the 13th of May from Manchester for our Honeymoon and back on the 28th.

The food was fantastic, we found the stake's to be the best thing to order at the Italian and Octopus. The fish was excellent from the Beach Grill, grouper and the fish platter were both very good. At the Buffet there was a good selection for b'fast, lunch, dinner, there is something for everyone, you would have to be very picky to not fined something to eat here !!

Our room was a good size and clean. There was the odd fault due to age, but you would have to be really picky and look for fault. It had a good size flat screen TV with a good choice of channels.

The Bars were good and the drinks flowed freely especially the cocktails, the beer in the mini bar was nice and so was the local draft ( presidente').

We had 4 trips out Ocean world , Buggy's , Outback safari & Paradise Island.They we all good days out the Buggy's were excellent fun and you get plastered in mud.Ocean world was very good, there are loads of shows, we did the dolphin encounter but I wished we'd done the royal swim.Paradise Island was a bit of a drive but it was nice to get out and about looking out of the coach window at Dominican life, The Island itself was amazing the fish life is incredible and the reef is like walking through a coral garden.The last trip we did was the safari, this was informative on how the Dominicans live, the Boogie boarding was fun and I lost count of the rum and coke's we'd had.

All in all we had a brilliant time, the food is very good, the rooms are ok , the pool and bars are nice & the beach is fab , its a real banker of a holiday.

Yes there are lucky lucky men all over, Yes the hotel was not built last week, but the place is so lush, the staff are excellent, Playa Dorada is beautiful, the golf course looks first rate.I can understand why they have so many repeat customers.

O and don't forget lots of sun tan oil and after sun because its £20 a bottle to buy it over there.One pair of long trousers or jeans for dinner.

Stayed here with my wife and our friends mid-end May 12. After an initial problem with our room allocations, we were allocated the rooms that I had requested by email. Clearly the hotel had not taken notice of my request but, thankfully we were moved with minimum fuss. We had the distinct impression that the inside ground floor rooms in Saona were specifically allocated to the British guests, perhaps they do not expect complaints but we were distinctly unimpressed with the decor and view so we did.

This is a very good resort, well located, good beach and decent facilities - though the gym is really not a gym and needs a complete re-think. The staff are excellent, Jackie at the quiet pool, Scooby and the other animation guys in particular - thank you for your efforts. The food is typical AI fare but better than many resorts and we enjoyed the A La Carte resturants which we found readily available. The drinks are also very typical of AI, weaker than in the UK but we all know that when we book so no complaints here. The beer is perfectly good and has the desired effect - sometimes too much! Disappointed that the swim-up bar was not staffed and, despite the best efforts of the pool bar staff, we had to wait some time to get noticed and served - the management really could have avoided this inconvenience by staffing to demand.

Unfortunately, the mindless lager louts from UK caused some sleepless nights towards the end of our stay with their unnecessary antics in the corridor in the wee small hours - really guys, grow up and respect the other guests, it's not big and it's not clever.

We enjoyed our holiday and feel that you can confidently stay here and enjoy yourself if you have realistic expectations of AI in Dom Rep.

Stayed May 2012, travelled as a couple

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2Thank ChunterChunter

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Ask ChunterChunter about VH Gran Ventana Beach Resort

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

Thank you for posting your comments about your recent stay. We are delighted to read that overall you enjoyed your stay with our hotel. Thank you so much for your kind words about our staff, we will be sure to pass along your compliments. We are sorry to hear that you had an issue with your room, but very glad to hear the situation was resolved for you. Your comments are valuable to us so that we can continue to improve our service. We do hope to welcome you back in the near future.

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC

Let's start with the beach. The hotel sits right on Playa Dorada. There are huts for shade and beach chairs for guests. The water's warm and the breeze is cool. It's perfect. There's a bar right off the beach as well and an a la carte restaurant (to which we did not go).The pool is beautiful. It has a swim up bar, a volley ball net and a beach gradual entry on one side. There are lounge chairs and umbrellas all around, and a guy under the palms husking coconuts for you to eat or drink.As for food, there are maybe 3 or 4 a la carte restaurants, but we don't enjoy the constraints of a reservation while on vacation so we stuck to the buffet. It's not what abuela used to make, but it's good and plentiful. They switch things up at every meal and they have at least 4 Dominican dishes each time for you to try. As for the rooms, the beds are firm and the floors are clean. Our air conditioner broke one night and they had us in a cooler room next door within 10 minutes. The staff is super friendly and helpful. There is also a shopping center right down the block with 3 or 4 clubs to keep you jamming all night. I don't know what more you could want in an all inclusive vacation. We can't wait to go back.

Room Tip: There's a "quiet pool" in the back of the resort. Personally, I like to be closer to t...

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Stayed May 2012, travelled as a couple

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Also Known As:

Gran Ventana Beach Hotel

Gran Ventana Dominican Republic

Gran Ventana Puerto Plata

Gran Ventana Beach Resort Puerto Plata

Hotel Gran Ventana Beach

Grand Ventana Beach Resort

Gran Ventana Hotel Dominican Republic

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